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The life cycle of jurisprudential regimes: the supreme court and the constitutional law of civil rights

THE LIFE CYCLE OF JURISPRUDENTIAL REGIMES:
THE SUPREME COURT AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF CIVIL RIGHTS
by
Marcella Marlowe
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)
December 2008
Copyright 2008 Marcella Marlowe

Is there a "life cycle" pattern to jurisprudence? This dissertation draws on institutional-based Court literature and American Political Development literature to refute the existing view of the common law system as a mostly-seamless pattern of ever-developing rulings, each of which builds on the last and continually clarifies our understanding of the law in a given area. Instead, I argue that doctrine in any given caselaw area follows a life cycle pattern consisting of a pre-governance phase, where the Court has not settled on a doctrinal test to apply consistently, a governance phase, where the Court establishes and consistently applies one doctrinal test in a given area of caselaw, and a post-governance phase, where consensus regarding the existing doctrinal test breaks down.; I also draw on emerging literature related to notions of jurisprudential regimes, articulated as periods of time where the Court is governed by a particular doctrine in a particular area of caselaw. Because this parallels my conception of the governance phase, I also apply the life cycle pattern in this case study to the jurisprudential regime concept to better inform our understanding of its utility.; I examine both the life cycle pattern and its applicability to jurisprudential regimes within the context of 14th Amendment equal protection challenges as it pertains to race, using qualitative methods. I conclude that the life cycle pattern is successfully borne out, with three regimes demonstrated to date, all following the three-phase pattern.

THE LIFE CYCLE OF JURISPRUDENTIAL REGIMES:
THE SUPREME COURT AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF CIVIL RIGHTS
by
Marcella Marlowe
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)
December 2008
Copyright 2008 Marcella Marlowe